Hire web designer?
Hire web designer? So, you've decided it may be best for the best, but are you sure?
On the face of it hiring a web designer to take care of building and maintaining your website for you may seem like a good idea. After all it would ensure that the job is done properly.
This is true however it would also bring about lots of negative effects too.
Think about it, if you decide to hire a web designer he/she will have complete control over your website. You will have to rely on them to update your content, add/remove links and carry out other maintenance. Imagine what would happen if you have some sort of dispute with your web designer or if a technical problem meant you lost contact. It does happen!
One thing you must understand is that creating a website is something that anybody can learn to do. In order to create an effective, text and picture website you do not need to have a vast amount of skill. This website will in fact teach you everything you need to know.
Personally I suggest that you take the time to learn how to create a website, by learning this you will also develop an understanding of how to maintain your site, add and remove links as necessary, etc. This means that you need not be reliant upon some web designer to make changes for you.
Times when it may be for the best to hire web designer..
There are actually times when I believe that it is a good idea to call in a pro and hire a web designer. For example, if you want a complex website, perhaps a downloads site or an interactive site with user accounts etc.
It is on these occasions when it may be best to hire a web designer. This sort of web design is extremely complex, it is a real skill, and unless you have the time and patience to learn web programming then I would recommend that you hire a web designer. Remember, your time is valuable, you could be using it to create new content for your visitors!
If you do decide to hire web designer..
After the designer has completed their work and been paid, make sure that they send you a copy of the website. As well as the FTP address and password so that you are able to edit and upload it to your web space.
That way you will be able to make basic modifications to the site yourself. Thus keeping overall control of your website. Remember, as a webmaster you MUST always keep control of your website. The account details of a well 'trafficked' website are as valuable as the keys to a car!
An alternative approach which avoids hiring a web designer..
These days a lot of people create their own websites, after all with software packages such as 'Front Page' the website creation process has been made easy. Often however when these 'Front Page' sites are launched on the web they have an amateurish look about them.
At this point, if this is you, instead of searching the net to hire a web designer it may be a better option to simply buy a web template. Once you have bought and downloaded it you can enter it into 'Front Page' or whichever website creation package you use and suddenly you have a professional looking website, rather than an amateurish one. Et Voila! Money saved yet you have the same result!
